New GOP Voice in Gun Talks

Why is there a gun show loop hole in the background check law? Would making the checks "universal" prevent crime and death? Jason Bellini has "The Short Answer."

By

Kristina Peterson

Updated April 10, 2013 7:52 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON—Senate Democrats' efforts to tighten gun regulations are receiving late help from an unexpected figure: Sen. Pat Toomey, a conservative Republican from Pennsylvania.

Backed by tea-party groups when he arrived in the Senate two years ago, Mr. Toomey has until now focused largely on fiscal issues. But last week he began discussions with Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) about expanding background checks on gun purchases, just as Democrats' negotiations with another Republican lawmaker appeared to fizzle.

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey has emerged as a new negotiating partner on gun legislation and perhaps the Democrats' best chance of getting expanded background checks through the Senate. Kristina Petersen reports. Photo: AP.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) had been working with Mr. Manchin on a bipartisan deal broadening background checks to nearly all firearm purchases. But Mr. Coburn has split with Democrats over whether to require unlicensed sellers to keep a paper record verifying that a background check had been conducted before making a sale.

While both GOP lawmakers have an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association, Mr. Toomey could have an easier time hashing out a deal with Mr. Manchin. In Pennsylvania, 94% of residents support requiring background checks for all gun sales, according to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll this year.

Messrs. Toomey and Manchin are working on expanding background checks to unlicensed sellers at gun shows and online, but not to other private sales, according to someone familiar with the negotiations. Currently, only federally licensed dealers must perform background checks and maintain a record of the sale. Mr. Toomey's office didn't return a request for comment.

Mr. Manchin had been working with Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) to expand the background-check requirement to include most sales by people who aren't licensed dealers.

ENLARGE

Sen. Pat Toomey, shown with a reporter last month, is working on expanding background checks for gun buys.
Roll Call/Getty Images

Mr. Toomey would face re-election in 2016, and his stance could especially prove popular in the suburbs of Philadelphia and in the Lehigh Valley north of the city, said G. Terry Madonna, the Franklin & Marshall poll's director. "Those are the swing voters," and they tend to support efforts to tighten gun regulation, he said.

Meanwhile, some Oklahomans who attended Mr. Coburn's home-state public meetings last week said they were wary that paper records could lead to a national registry of gun owners.

Mr. Toomey's home state already has some tougher restrictions in place than the federal law mandates. In Pennsylvania, any individual or dealer selling a handgun must sell or transfer it at a licensed dealer or county sheriff's office, where an instant records check is required. Individuals may transfer rifles and shotguns without a records check, according to the NRA.

Timeline: Gun Control in the U.S.

If he signed on to a background-check bill, Mr. Coburn, a noted skeptic of federal powers and a longtime advocate for gun rights, would provide significant cover for Republicans and red-state Democrats to do the same. Still, Mr. Toomey's conservative credentials on fiscal issues could help draw Republican support. He is a former president of the Club for Growth, an influential small-government group.

"His engagement would send a very strong signal to people who are wavering" that supporting expanded background checks would be, "if not a safe vote, then not as dangerous a vote as the conventional wisdom might hold," said Kristin Goss, a professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.

It isn't yet clear which other Republicans might support a deal on background checks beyond Mr. Kirk, but Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) has said he is open to considering a bipartisan proposal, his spokesman said.

Still, even a bipartisan deal would face strong resistance from some Republicans. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, 13 Republicans objected to moving forward with "any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) also would oppose bringing the bill to the floor, his spokesman said Monday.

However, other Republicans have said the Senate should vote on the gun measures, bolstering Democrats' chances of being able to bring the bill to the floor.

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